AIBRIEF
Aptoide is now the first rival app store available through Google Play on Sunday, a narrow step from a 2023 antitrust verdict against Google.
Games. Aptoide announced the integration via a Facebook post on Sunday, and Google has added an "Other app stores" section to the Play Store website, where Aptoide is currently the only entry.
Until now, US Android users could install third-party stores only by downloading an Android Package Kit (APK) from a browser and clicking through security warnings that asked them to allow installs from outside sources. Approved rival stores can now be installed through Google Play like any other app.
Epic sued Google in 2020 after the company's Fortnite was removed for adding a direct payment option that bypassed the platforms' commissions of up to 30% per sale. A jury found Google liable for antitrust violations in 2023, and US District Judge James Donato ordered Play Store changes in 2024, including allowing rival app stores to be distributed through Google Play. Google announced compliance changes in 2025 rather than continue appeals.
Aptoide is a games-only marketplace, and the listing is one entry on day one of a multi-store remedy. Appstore. Epic largely lost its parallel case against Apple, and that litigation continues.